Meeting of the First and the Last
by reikat
Summary: The first of a triad of one-shots detailing Eriah's dealings with Miraak. Each piece of the triad stands on its own more or less.


Eriah Quintence was in Solstheim, an island belonging to the Dunmer homeland of Morrowind. She was following up on a band of mysterious cultists who had two members accost her in Windhelm where she was living. On the body of one of the cultists was a note calling her a false Dragonborn and mentioning a man named Miraak. If not for the fact the note mentioned her by name, Eriah would've let it slide. Many people hailed her as a hero but she had her enemies as well. She immediately went to Ulfric Stormcloak to ask for a leave of absence from the Stormcloak army to pursue answers. It only took Ulfric a moment after reading the note for himself to realize that delaying or ignoring the threat the cultists presented would have consequences, not just on the war, but on Eriah's survival. Ulfric couldn't afford for the war to be maligned by an unrelated third party going after one of his most valuable soldiers. He had done well enough before she came into the picture but by the time he and Eriah met on the way to Helgen, the war had come to stalemate and she turned the tide when she revealed herself as the Dragonborn and told him her warhammer was his to command. They had made good headway in pushing the Imperials west that he could afford for Eriah to leave his service for a bit. With his blessing, Eriah soon boarded the Northern Maiden and was sailing to Solstheim.

Upon reaching the island, she immediately started digging for information on the man mentioned in the note, Miraak. She recognized his name as Dovahzul for Allegiance Guide and deduced he was a Dragon Priest. It was unheard of for men or mer to have names in Dovahzul if they weren't directly connected with the dragons so Miraak being a priest in their order was really the only logical explanation. Her investigations led her to the Temple of Miraak where she met a Skaal woman named Frea who accompanied her into the ruins to comb for more answers. Frea also filled in Eriah on other details concerning their quarry. Apparently, Miraak had betrayed his dragon masters but also rebuffed requests for help from the ancient Nordic heroes to deal with Alduin. Miraak's betrayal led to his temple being razed by the dragons and he perished at the ends of a fellow priest named Vahlok the Jailer...or so the stories thought. Other stories she had found mentioned that Hermaeus Mora, a Daedric Prince she had the misfortune of meeting, had saved him. Eriah wasn't sure what to think.

She and Frea were currently in a chamber with a strange black book on a pedestal. "This is...strange. I sense a strange energy from this book." Eriah said, removing the Masque of Clavicus Vile. "This book... it seems wrong, somehow. Here, yet... not. It may be what we seek." her companion agreed. The Dragonborn felt a compulsion to read the tome before her but her rational mind was louder, telling her that it was too dangerous. Still, if she wanted to get to the bottom of the problem at hand, she had to see what knowledge the book had within. "Hang on to this." Eriah said, handing the Masque to Frea who did so. Picking up the Black Book, she opened to the first page and immediately something went wrong. Tentacles emerged from the book but before Eriah could slam the book shut, they wrapped around her wrists, keeping it in her hands, before inching around her neck and finally stabbing her in the forehead. "Eriah!" Frea cried out, backing away as the Dragonborn's eyes rolled into her head and she was left still as a statue. There was nothing Frea could do. She recognized Herma-Mora's handiwork and knew that Eriah was likely on her way to Apocrypha, his realm in Oblivion.

Eriah slowly came to, hearing an accented voice speaking. Her vision cleared and she saw she was in a strange world. In front of her was a man in priestly robes with his back to her, speaking to a pair of nightmarish creatures. He sensed her presence and rounded on his heel. Eriah had no time to act before he sent powerful bolts of lightning magic at her. "AGH!" she cried as the magic connected and brought her to her knees. She fell forward and caught herself on her hands. Ungodly pain coursed through her body and she forced her head up to look at the man. His face was hidden by a gold mask that was unlike any Dragon Priest mask she had collected so far. It looked like it was carved in the image of the two creatures flanking him. "Who are you to dare set foot here?" he demanded. Eriah couldn't answer for the pain she was in but her mind was still in working order, enough for her to take in more details on the Priest. His robes did little to hide the fact he had a Nord's build but his accent wasn't easily placed. Her dragon soul recognized him as one of its own and it railed against showing such weakness. That confused Eriah to no end. Could he possibly be Dragonborn? She thought she was the only one.

"Ahh... You are Dragonborn. I can feel it. And yet..." the man, Miraak, said. He got closer to her, his own soul sensing hers and knowing she was like him. Eriah could tell he was studying her, even if she couldn't see his eyes. She could sense his power and it quelled the storm within her soul. The dragon in her acknowledged he was her better, a thought that angered her. She was the one who had laid waste to Alduin. Surely a mere man wouldn't be so great compared to the World-Eater that her soul would roll belly-up in submission. "So you have slain Alduin... Well done. I could have slain him myself, back when I walked the earth, but I chose a different path.You have no idea of the true power a Dragonborn can wield! Mul... Qah Div!" he Shouted. Ethereal aspects of dragons appeared, giving the Dragon Priest an armored look, something Eriah had never seen before. She recognized Mul because it had been on the Word Wall she and Frea had encountered before reaching the room with the Black Book. She knew it was possible for men to learn the Thu'um but with this man, it was unlikely the dragons would've taught him anything of their tongue or how to use Words of Power.

"This realm is beyond you. You have no power here. And it is only a matter of time before Solstheim is also mine. I already control the minds of its people. Soon they will finish building my temple, and I can return home." he said. As much as Eriah wanted to demand answers from the First of her kind, to tell him that Solstheim would never be his as long as she lived, her tongue still felt like lead and she was still in pain from his magic. That's when she realized it wasn't her dragon soul that had acknowledged Miraak as her better. Her rationality had. This man had power the likes of which she hadn't seen in a mortal before. Eriah knew when she was outmatched and thus, if and when she was sent back to the temple, she needed to start thinking of strategies to deal with this menace. Miraak turned his back on her, addressing the creatures with him as a blue dragon landed nearby. "Send her back where she came from. She can await my arrival with the rest of Tamriel." he ordered. He started to walk to away as the creatures floated closer. "Wait!" she suddenly managed to shout out. It did no good. The creature started to bombard her with magic and it took all she had to keep watching as Miraak mounted the dragon and flew off. That's when her sight gave out.

Eriah felt as if she was thrown back into her body. Gasping as she came back to herself, the Dragonborn dropped the Black Book where it fell to the ground, closed. She staggered a little. "Are you alright?" Frea asked, taking a hold of Eriah's arm. "I think so. I saw Miraak." she replied, finding her balance and taking the Masque back. "Are you sure?" the Skaal woman asked. "Positive. I could feel it in my soul. He has to be...like me. Dragonborn. That's something you can't fake. I had entertained the possibility of an impostor playing at being Dragonborn. I do have my share of enemies. What I don't understand is where I was or how he could possibly be alive still. He was supposed to have died back in the Dragon War." Eriah said, as she shoved the Black Book into her satchel. Frea helped her towards the door to the temple's exit. "Don't forget some of the stories said Herma-Mora saved him, drawing him into his realm of Oblivion. It's called Apocrypha." Frea explained. "Those stories are true then. Hermaeus Mora did save him from the dragons long ago. Time doesn't flow in Oblivion so of course, Miraak would still be alive. A man from another time. I wouldn't put it past Mora to have told Miraak about me and my victory over Alduin. He seemed to know I did, judging from what he said." Eriah said, quietly. Now that she had time to process things, she realized she had a lot of meditation to do. If it were feasible, she'd return to Skyrim and make her way to the Throat of the World. Now was one of those times where she needed Paarthurnax's guidance. She knew Miraak had to be stopped but the fact that legends were true, that he was Dragonborn like her, added something of a complication. As it were, time was against her and Eriah wasn't about to leave Solstheim unprotected. Miraak was growing stronger and she needed to be here.

"We must speak to my father, Storn. He's the shaman of my people and he should have answers for you." Frea said as they emerged into the sun outside the temple. As the women walked towards the Skaal Village, Frea pointed out the Wind Stone and the barrier protecting whoever was left. Eriah was soon walking under her own power, her mind still processing the idea of her newest enemy being Dragonborn. Perhaps Storn would have the answers she sought about Miraak so she could think of how to stop him. Apocrypha added another challenge. Hermaeus Mora wouldn't allow her to walk willy-nilly in his realm without a price so she had to keep that in mind. Daedric lore spoke of his lust for knowledge and secrets, regardless of the fact they had little value to him. He lusted for knowledge for its own sake, with the singular intent of never using it except as a lure for mortals. Her last encounter with him had ended with Eriah giving him the proverbial bird by telling him she would never be his puppet. Encountering Mora again was inevitable so she had to find a way to prevent him from using her for his own gain. She hated that Prince more than any other she encountered. Sanguine wasn't so bad...even though he gave her reputation a beating when he tricked her into a drinking contest that ended with her making an utter fool of herself and causing problems for people in several holds, ending in Markarth. Still, Hermaeus Mora was one of those she despised. She had to proceed with care.


End file.
